Herland Sister Resources

The scene opens like this. Open mic night. Seventeen. Alone. The only girl on the list. The only girl in the room. Julie Loyd stands on stage wailing away on a cheap guitar — wearing another hole in the finish, weaving a tune with a set of gutsy vocals and stomping out a rhythm with a set of steel-toed combat boots. Two songs later, Julie steps off stage and puts her guitar back in its case. A fellow musician walks up to her and says, simply, “give up everything before you give up this.”

When Julie recalls her favorite audience reactions, this easily tops her list. In the five years since that open mic, Julie has expanded her horizons playing all around the country and sharing stages with such performers as Shawn Mullins, Alana Davis, Michelle Malone, Edie Carey, and Chris Barron (of the Spin Doctors), to name a few. She steps inside her songs, contorting, kicking, and undulating to the beat of her own percussive guitar playing. She has a knack for making folk dynamic: “I’m tired of folk being seen as boring. Just because I’m playing an acoustic guitar doesn’t mean I’m going to be singing about the mountains — and if I am, I’m singing loud.”

“Julie Loyd is an incredibly gifted songwriter from Charlottesville, Virginia, and her songwriting skills and performance are simply amazing.”- Up & Coming Magazine. “Julie was a sight to behold in boots, halter top and thirties-style red hair that matcher her guitar. Her tunes are strong and memorable” -Performer Magazine. “She paints powerful and gutsy literate canvases, full of strength, independence, anger, fierceness, connection, wholeness and doubt.” - Celtic & Folk Music CD Review.

Julie will be in town in the middle of the week, so the concert will be early on Wednesday, October 5, 2005, from 7 – 9 pm, at Herland, 2312 NW 39th, Oklahoma City. Tickets are sliding scale ($7.50-$15.00 suggested donation) and available at the door or in advance at Herland on Saturdays. Call 405-521-9696 for more information, and check Julie out at www.julieloyd.com.

October 28th-30th, Eufaula State Park

Where Were You Twenty Years Ago? Well, Herland’s 20 Year Reunion Retreat will explain where a lot of us were.

The plans are coming together for the biggest Retreat yet. Just a few of the events planned are a pumpkin carving contest (bring your own pumpkin), costume contest (for 2 legged and 4 legged), a silent auction — among other things you can bid on a sailboat that has been donated — and the usual raffle with loads of goodies.

Saturday brunch will be served by our own gourmet Chris and she is promising omelets, etc. There will be outdoor activities earning the winners points toward a prize from the raffle table. And there will be indoor games tournament activity, as well. There will be a special 20th anniversary retreat t-shirt to mark the occasion and hopefully tie-dying; however, finding a tie-dye artist is proving difficult.

Don’t forget the potluck, as it is always the best meal of the year. On top of all the things we have planned, there are a golf course and hiking trails at Eufaula, fishing, nature center, and plenty of wildlife to watch.

Bring costumes for you and/or your dog for the costume contest — Jeannie Flanigan will bring makeup and other additional costume items for your use.

Also, please send in any photos you might have of past retreats as we will scan them into the computer and show them on the wall throughout the Retreat. (You will get your photos back unharmed.) Let’s see how many years of retreats we can identify.

Come share the celebration. It will definitely be fun and interesting. For more information, or to offer help with this Mother of all Retreats, contact Laura or leave a message for the Retreat Committee. Laura can be reached at 286-0079 or a message left at Herland at 521-9696.

Last month we had ten trivia questions to test your memory of the Herland Retreats. So how did you do? Find out below.

1. Where was the first Herland Retreat held? Answer: Osage Hills, Fall 1985. Entertainers were Mary Reynolds and Peggy Johnson.

2. Where was a lavender bra run up the flagpole? Answer: Boiling Springs, April 1988.

3. At which retreat was there a “4:30 virgin?” Answer: Robbers Cave, May 1990. Peggy was really trying to say “version,” as in a song version, but at 4:30 am, it came out as “virgin” and has stayed that way ever since.

4. At which retreat were dyke eroticakes served for breakfast? Answer: Fall 1987, Robbers Cave. Helen H. was the chef of the morning who enticed late risers to get out of their bunks for some rather risqué pancakes.

5. Who were the performers the last time a retreat was held at Sequoyah State Park? Answer: Fall 1988, comedian Karen Williams and singer/songwriter Nancy Scott of Austin.

6. Where did Herland have its first 4-day retreat? Lake Wister, Fall 1989.

7. Which retreat featured tie-dyeing and a kazoo band? Answer: Arrowhead State Park, September 1990.

8. Which retreat boasted the highest attendance at 150 womyn? Answer: October 1991, Red Rock Canyon.

9. Which retreat featured a dog show/costume contest? Answer: October 1995, Arrowhead State Park.

10. Which entertainer has performed at the most Herland retreats? Answer: Winning by a nose is Mary Reynolds, with 8 performances; Peggy Johnson was right there with 7 official.

Herland Hiking

The next Herland Hike is on Saturday, September 10th at 10 am. We will return to Martin Nature Park, 5000 W. Memorial (between MacArthur and Meridian), for this hike. Everyone is also invited to meet at Panera, corner of W. Memorial and Meridian, for coffee or breakfast at 9:00 am if they so desire. We will also discuss plans to try different locations for future hikes on alternating months.

Herland Supper Club

Join us for the Herland Supper Club on Saturday, September 10th, at 5:30 pm at Boomerang Restaurant,412 S. Meridian, between I-40 and Reno. Those wishing to carpool can meet at Herland Sister Resources at 5:00 pm. After supper, at 7:00 pm, we will go around the corner to Celebration Station, on I-40 just east of Meridian, for some games of miniature golf.

Herland Video Night

Herland presents the movie, Better Than Chocolate, on Saturday, September 17th at 7 pm.

Maggie, a clerk at a lesbian bookstore, meets footloose butch Kim and, after Kim’s van is towed away, they move in together. Unfortunately for their romantic bliss, Maggie’s mother, Lila, and teenage brother move in that very evening thanks to Lila’s impending divorce. But what really complicates matters is that Maggie can’t bring herself to come out to her mother; even when she tries, Lila steamrolls through the conversation, like she knows what’s coming and doesn’t want to hear it.

Interwoven with this is the struggle of Judy, a male-to-female transsexual who’s in love with the bookstore’s owner, Frances, who’s freaking out because customs officers are holding a list of books at the border that they claim are obscene.

The overlapping plots are deftly juggled, the personal and political are compellingly interwoven, and, most satisfying of all, the characters have problems that aren’t going to be easily resolved. A handful of candy-colored lip-synching musical numbers give the movie some flash and the sex scenes give the movie some heat, but it’s the elements of sorrow and ambiguity that really make the joy in Better Than Chocolate something to savor.

Many thanks go out to the folks that showed up on our last work day. Jasmine and Cheryl B. cleared and cleaned out the garage, making so much room we were able to put up our small ping pong table. Margy (our forewoman for the kitchen remodel project), Cheryl S., and Chris textured the walls and ceiling in the kitchen in preparation for painting. The kitchen remodeling is almost finished! Betsy and Jasmine cleared the front porch of tons of clutter. Laura, Linda, and Ginger helped outside and inside on various tasks. And thanks to Jeannie F. for her excellent clean up and straightening up when she worked the bookstore last month.